Into The Woods
by LiliacSkies
Summary: There is no Isle of The Lost. Villains and their children are banished into the Enchanted Woods, far away from civilisation. However, a certain charming soon-to-be-king prince and a purple haired dark fairy try to change that. (BENxMAL CENTRED)
1. Prologue

_"Fairies are the most common magical creatures that you'll probably encounter, born out of the purest of love and kindness. However, once in a blue moon a dark fairy is born, one that isn't conceived in love or joy. One of these is Maleficent._

 _"She wasn't always dark. Although her parents hadn't been the kindest, she was always trying to be the best person she could be. However, because she hadn't been born out of love, she was destined for evil. Her peers had alienated her, so much so that she wasn't invited to the princess's christening. That was the last straw, as Maleficent unleashed her curse._

 _"Sixteen years later, Maleficent found love in a stable boy in the King's kingdom. When she let herself feel love, she decided that it was time to undo the curse. However, it had already been undone, and she was banished, far far away from her one true love. What the kingdom didn't know, however, is that she was with child. No one knows what happened to the child, but rumour has it that they too were born out of evil._

 _"These events began the famous plot against the villains of all the lands. It began when Maleficent was banished to an isolated part of the Enchanted Woods, away from any source of life. Kings from far and wide began banishing the villains that resided in their kingdoms into the Enchanted Woods, destined to live their days out there. Another notable villain that got banished there soon after was the Evil Queen, having failed her plot against Snow White._

 _"It is not confirmed, but rumour has it that she was too with child. Although Snow White begged for her step sister or brother to be spared, the alleged child also now lives in the prohibited part of the Great Woods. Jafar and Cruella De Vil were the next villains who were banished, and the list continues until today._

 _"Now kids, it is very important that you never ever venture into that part of the Great Woods. No one has been there in a very long time so none of us know what's down there. Are we all clear?"_

The children sat around Fairy Godmother all nodded their heads, including Ben, the future heir to the throne. He'd always been curious, just like his mother was, and couldn't help what wonder what actually lay in the woods.

* * *

 **Summary: There is no Isle of The Lost. Villains and their children are banished into the Enchanted Woods, far away from civilisation. However, a certain charming soon-to-be-king prince and a purple haired dark fairy try to change that.**

 **So this is a little gem I thought of when I was watching Into The Woods the other night. It's going to be a lot slower with updates than my other fic but I will make sure to post at least a chapter a week. This fanfiction will proceed at a much faster rate than Through The Cracks but will ultimately have a lot more plots and a lot more storylines for the other villain kids, yet will still stay centred to BenxMal.**

 **Please leave any ideas in the reviews and I'll be happy to tailor this story to the best it can be. Thank you :)**


	2. Chapter 1

The Enchanted Woods were a dangerous yet beautiful place. If you didn't know your way, you could get lost like Snow White, or distracted like Red Riding Hood. Most people stayed in the first part of the woods, the one with Snow Whites cottage and Rapunzel's tower, but no one dared to venture deeper.

There were many stories and legends about what lay in the depths of the wood. Some say that at midnight every night you can hear Maleficent's cackle, while others say you can hear the Evil Queen smash every mirror she could find. In reality, the villains land was too far away for any of it to be true, but children liked to dream and imagine, and what's the harm in that?

At first glance, the villains land (better known as Thornwood to its residents) would seem like an ordinary village. There were bakers and blacksmiths and tailors and even a small castle where Maleficent resided. However, if you took a closer look, you'd see the baker mixing thorns in her dough. You'd catch the blacksmith testing out his newest knife on a woodland creature. In reality, everyone in that village was rotten to the core.

Well, maybe not _everyone._

Villains had kids too. The leader of the village, Maleficent, had a beautiful baby girl. Being the wicked fairy she was, she named her child after herself; Mal. The child was born out of love, yet raised in a world surrounded by evil. This went for every single child in the village. Even though they were children, they were not spared by their parents villainous actions.

Mal was possibly the purest magical creature in the village. She was a fairy, just like her mother, and spent her days exploring the woods with Carlos and Jay, two other villian kids. They all stuck with their parents colour schemes, so although they had pure intentions on the outside, they seemed rotten on the inside. Mal hadn't received her horns or her wings yet, and she didn't know if she ever would. To be blessed with wings and horns you must make a great sacrifice to prove yourself, and Mal didn't know where to start.

Jay searched for treasure in the woods during his days. His father Jafar ran the most successful junk shop in the village (probably because it was the only junk shop in the village), and Jay insisted to play his part by supplying his father with goods. He had to go pretty far into the woods to find something, as not many people ventured anywhere near the village, so he joined Mal and Carlos on their adventures daily.

Carlos was actually surprisingly adventurous. He was fast, and that was because of a simple factor; he was part dog. Wolf, to be exact. You see, what most people didn't know is that the Big Bad Wolf from the Red Riding Hood was actually a werewolf. When he met Cruella De Vil he fell in love immediately, and soon had a child; Carlos. Much to his parents delight, he inherited the wolf traits from his father, meaning he was more than capable to look after himself. However, he was still wary of other people, and it took quite a long time before he'd allowed Jay and Mal to touch his wolf ears.

They were an unbeatable trio; Mal had her magic, Jay had his keen eye and Carlos had his animal senses. Each day they'd go a step further into the woods, discover a new tree or new land. Mal would collect plants for the potions her mother would teach her to brew whilst Jay rummaged for treasure and Carlos climbed trees. They were the perfect balance, and to those who didn't know better, they'd look like normal children playing games.

However, there was one young girl who longed to have everything they had. She resided at the top of the highest tower of the village, even taller than Maleficent's castle. Her name was Evie, with beautiful locks of dark blue hair and enchanting eyes that would make any prince swoon. She was the perfect daughter with perfect features and perfect grace, but that wasn't enough for The Evil Queen. Her daughter was her most perfect thing, the fairest of them all, and she couldn't put her in danger. She couldn't have another evil queen try and rip her away. So, for her safety, she took a page out of Mother Gothel's book and locked her in a tower (that is, without the neverending cascade of magic hair).

The tower was at the edge of the village, far away from the market square, meaning that she barely got to interact with anyone but her mother. She was sometimes let out of the tower to pick flowers or to pick up more fabric for her sewing hobby, but otherwise she was confined to the tower. It wasn't all completely horrible, as she found ways to entertain herself through creating clothing, but she longed to be able to run through the woods carelessly one day. Her mother hadn't been thrilled when she voiced her wish, but Evie was sure that one day her mother would agree. Maybe when she was forty.

As the villain kids continued with their day, laughing and prancing or cooking and cleaning, their parents were gathered at Maleficent's castle, having a very important meeting.

"Absolutely not!" The Evil Queen screeched as she slammed her fist on the table, "My poor Evie! She could never! She can't even handle a broken nail!"

"You should have more faith in your girl," Jafar commented, "My boy has been living free of rules for years and he's been the greatest treasure anyone could've given me!"

"Our children are probably the smartest, most capable kids in the whole forest!" Maleficent snapped as she stood up, gesturing to the magical cuff on her wrist, "See these? We have them to prevent us from using magic, but _they don't_. As far as Auradon knows, they don't exist!"

"So what you're trying to say is that you want to send out a thief, a half wolf, a dark fairy and a locked up princess into the world?" Cruella asked, "To do what exactly, may I ask?"

"Fairy Godmother's wand," Maleficent began, "If they can get their hands, or paws, on the wand, then they can release us from these cuffs and we can once again take over Auradon together."

"I'm in," Jafar announced, turning to Cruella and The Evil Queen, "Ladies, it's up to you."

"As long as my dear Carlos doesn't get hurt, then I guess I'm in," Cruella relented.

"And as long as my Evie is safe," The Evil Queen sighed, "But one scratch on her pretty little face and you'll have a problem bigger than that cuff Maleficent."

Maleficent smirked wickedly at the trio of villains in front of her. If all went according to plan, she'd be reigning over Auradon in no time.

However, her daughter was far away from her mother's wicked thoughts. Deep in the woods, she'd lost sight of the others. She wasn't worried, as she knew her way back and Carlos could track her with her scent, but there was something pulling her away from the village, deeper into the woods where the trees were slimmer and the paths were clearer.

The sun was brighter in this part of the woods, with less branches blocking its light. The forest floor was covered in freshly fallen leaves, only clear where the path would go through. Mal didn't recognise the path, as usually she made them with Jay and Carlos. It was well-worn clearly, and had a few wheel tracks on the ground, so Mal assumed it was probably utilised by a nearby village. Her common sense was telling her to get as far away from the path as possible, but her curiosity won over.

She started trailing down the path, away from Thornwood and everything she'd ever known. She didn't walk on the path, opting for following it down by walking through the trees next to it. That way, she could still be hidden by any possible passersby. If anyone saw her, they'd probably consider her quite unusual, with flowers weaved in her hair and a dark purple cloak held tightly around her, the hood covering most of her face. To top it off, under the cloak she was wearing one of her mother's old gowns, cut to a shorter length for running with rips and tears in the once pristine lilac fabric. It was her favourite dress, and she'd one day restore it to it's former beauty.

Although she lived in the villain's territory, she was quite the gentle person. She'd inherited some evil traits from her mother of course, including her knack for talking to ravens, but all in all Mal assumed she was a lot more like her father than her mother in personality. She had the same pale skin and green eyes from her mother, but she had light freckles dusted over her nose and cheeks that she was certain were not from her mother.

Of course she enjoyed seeing innocent people in pain. Who didn't? However sometimes she wondered what lay in a different world, a different village even. Were people really as horrible to villains as her mother had said? She couldn't imagine anyone crueler than her mother if she was honest, but the mere thought of it brought shivers down her spine.

About an hour later, Mal finally saw something other than the path and the trees surrounding it. In the middle of the path, lonely and abandoned, lay a pocket watch on a necklace. It was glimmering in the sun, and as far as Mal could tell, it still worked. She hesitantly picked the item up, rushing back to her hiding spot to examine it. She found a delicate engraving on the back, partially covered in soil which she easily wiped away. Squinting, she read the words out loud.

 _"If you don't know where you are going any road can take you there"_

Mal nearly dropped the pocket watch as she read the words. They were far too accurate to her situation, so surely someone had planted the watch there?

She looked ahead in the path to see if anything was up ahead until she realised something. The watch was right. She didn't know where she was going, so any road could really take her there. In some twisted way, it made perfect sense.

With a deep breath, she stepped back onto the path, putting the watch around her neck and making her way down the path, hoping that she didn't run into more trouble that she could handle.

On the other side of the woods, a young half-werewolf boy was running faster than he ever had before, dodging trees and enjoying the feeling of the wind running through his hair. The simple pleasures in life were the ones that he enjoyed the most. He could never see himself as a prince, having to attend ball after ball. He'd rather be free, and he intended to enjoy this freedom.

He found his best friend Jay soon after he'd calmed down, meeting him deeper inside the woods. Jay was more of a materialistic guy, therefore didn't enjoy the simple pleasures Carlos constantly referred to. They were opposites, but fit together like two puzzle pieces. They were inseparable friends, along with Mal, and sometimes longed for a fourth person to share this with.

"Do you see that?!" Jay whispered excitedly as he pointed to a rather large path, pulling Carlos behind a tree to his hiding place, "There's a carriage coming down this way, and I bet it's filled with treasures!"

"So?" Carlos asked, "It's not like we can perform a raid."

"We can't perform a raid, but with your speed and my skills, we may be able to pull this off," Jay smirked, picking up a twig from the ground.

He positioned himself closer to the path, waiting for the last second where the carriage would drive past them. As soon as he caught sight of the front wheels, he threw a stick into the wheel, watching with satisfaction as it broke off and left the carriage stranded. He hid behind the nearby tree, gesturing for Carlos towards the carriage.

"Do your thing wolf," Jay whispered with a smirk.

With a sigh and an eye roll, Carlos darted towards the carriage as fast as he could. He took a peek inside from the back window before running back.

"Nothing special, just people," Carlos explained, "Can we go now? I want to get back home before mother realises I haven't brushed her furs."

"Fine, let's find Mal," Jay grumbled, unsatisfied. He'd seen the crest on the carriage before, but he couldn't quite remember where...

"She's right there," Carlos replied, pointing at the other side of the path to Mal, who was curiously peeking at the carriage from behind a tree.

Jay started making frantic arm movements to catch Mal's attention, however that was futile as Mal was entranced by the people in the carriage. There was a boy, not much older than she was surely, with golden hair and bright blue eyes. He did not look worried that the carriage was broken, in fact he seemed relaxed, happily chatting with a girl sat next to him. She wore the most beautiful pink and blue gown, with a tiara elegantly placed on her head.

"Mal!" Carlos hissed, having sped across to the other side of the path without anyone seeing him, "We need to go! You know what our parents say about strangers!"

"A prince," Mal breathed, coming to the realization, "That's a prince, and that's a princess. This is a royal carriage Carlos. You broke a royal carriage!"

"And we need to get out of here before they see us!" Carlos whispered, "Lets go!"

Mal was finally convinced, taking a few steps back from the carriage before running through the woods, Carlos and Jay next to her as they ran towards the village.

She'd never seen royalty before, and she wished she never had. They were beautiful, glamourous even, a stark difference from the Enchanted Woods. They didn't belong between the trees, didn't appreciate the beauty of nature like she did. She was afraid, yet slightly intrigued.

What could possibly lay beyond the woods?


	3. Chapter 2

It was the morning after the encounter with the carriage and the watch. Mal awoke from her evil dreams with a light yawn, stretching her arms out with a smile on her face. She actually liked waking up, the sun streaming from the broken window in her room casting a delicate glow on her face.

She liked her room. It was the highest room in Maleficent's castle, Maleficent herself having opted for the room with a balcony just below Mal's. There were tree branches and plants growing from the cracks in the walls, serving as clothing hangers for Mal's cloaks and dresses. Her bed was a mere mattress with a lovingly knitted blanket by the elderly witch a few doors down, and a pillow stolen from the royal palace years and years ago. The floor was always immaculate, save for the few piles of books and parchments Mal kept laying around. Of course, there was a spinning wheel with a spindle in her room, in memory of Maleficent's acts of cruelty. Her mother placed there in hopes that it would inspire Mal to one day commit an evil curse.

Mal awoke with cherry blossom petals falling in her face, courtesy of a cherry blossom branch that had recently made its way through the cracks on the wall. She brushed the petals away, standing up and getting dressed immediately. The previous night, Maleficent had made it very clear that Mal was to be up bright and early for a 'Special Announcement'.

After getting ready, she gleefully hurried down the crumbling staircase, wearing the same clothing as the day before. Maleficent was still fast asleep, obvious from her loud snoring, so Mal still had a little time before her mother expected her. She decided to stop by Carlos' house to make sure he was awake, as he was also expected to be at Maleficent's special announcement.

Carlos had a slightly less glamorous way of life than Mal. His bedroom was situated on the bottom floor of Cruella's crumbling mansion. It was in the fur closet, behind the furs and inside the secret room. Like Mal, all he had was a mattress and a stolen pillow, with one of his mother's old furs to warm him. He spent most of his time outside, so he really didn't use his room much, therefore his sleeping conditions didn't really bother him.

However, what did bother him was the sound of someone's fist knocking on the door.

With a groan, Carlos got up, stretching his arms and wolf ears before heading towards the door. His mother, the unstoppable alcoholic she is, was passed out on the living room sofa with a mug of brandy dangling from her fingertips. The house was empty, save for Cruella's light snoring and the creak of the floorboards as Carlos walked to the door.

When he opened it, he wasn't surprised to find Mal standing there expectantly, and Mal wasn't surprised to see Cruella's form on the sofa passed out. She rolled her eyes at the woman, grabbing Carlos by the sleeve and dragging him out into the village road.

"Mom is going to be awake soon, and you know she doesn't appreciate being late," Mal explained, grabbing an apple from a deserted fruit stand and taking a bite out of it, "We need to wake Jay too."

"Can't he do that himself?" Carlos moaned, yawning and scratching his head, "I was hoping to sleep in for a little longer."

Mal shot him a short glare as they walked towards Jafar's store, where they knew Jay slept in.

However, on the other side of the village, the beautiful daughter of the Evil Queen was awoken by the shrill sound of a delicate bell, which had been waking her up every morning for the past sixteen years. Like Mal, she woke up delicately, without rush. Her room was decorated with the finest treasures the Evil Queen could find in the village, which wasn't much considering they were in the villains side of the Enchanted Woods.

Her bed was in the middle of the room, a real princess-worthy bed with a paint-chipped bed frame and piles upon piles of blankets. Her pillows were the finest her mother could find, with just a few rips and tears on the seams, and the curtains draped in front of her windows were just a little worn, meaning that only a few streams of light would pass through. Her vanity and wardrobe were like the frame of her bed; painted with chipped white paint and barely standing anymore. Her vanity was piled with half-used cosmetics and empty perfume bottles, each one a gift from her mother with her attempt to make sure Evie remained the 'fairest of them all'.

The ceiling of Evie's room had been covered in vines of different plants long ago, and had grown to hang down above her room. A few particular ones covered in flowers nearly reached the floor, where Evie would pick them and braid them into her hair. She enjoyed sewing the flowers into dresses too, using a simple preservation potion her mother had taught her to keep them fresh. Although magic was prohibited in the village, simple potions such as cures and to aid harmless tasks were still accomplishable. Evie had learnt all of her mother's spellbooks and potion books back to front at an early age, so she was perfectly capable of brewing any simple potion. Therefore, she now also had a shelf with a row of potions ready to use.

Evie knew that although she might not be the brightest girl, she was definitely the fairest. If beauty has a name, it would be Evie. However, no one would ever be able to see her true beauty.

Or so she thought.

"Evie my darling," Her mother cooed as she entered her bedroom, "Did you have wicked dreams?"

"Oh yes mother," Evie replied with excitement, as she sat up in her bed, "I dreamt of a prince and the most wonderful palace and, oh, you should've seen the gowns!"

The Evil Queen chuckled fondly at her daughter before resuming her serious demeanor, "Evie, I'm afraid there's something we need to talk about."

Evie immediately paled, "Did I do something wrong mother?"

"Nothing at all my dear," The Evil Queen replied, sitting next to her daughter on the bed and caressing her hair, "It's just... There are going to be a few changes around here, and we need your help to let them happen."

"What kind of changes mother?"

The Evil Queen smiled sadly at Evie's innocence. She was as pure as they came, latching onto every word her mother said. It was saddening, however The Evil Queen knew that she'd grow up into a wonderful young girl, and a wonderful wife for that matter.

"There is an item in a place far far away, a place full of horrible princesses and dashing princes," Her mother began, "This item, this _wand_ , is so powerful it could free us all from this village. Maleficent called a meeting, and she's decided that you are one of the chosen few to adventure to retrieve the wand."

"Me?!" Evie gasped as her eyes widened, "Why me?! I'm sure there are others in the village that would be much more suited to the role-"

"You're special Evie, more than you know," The Evil Queen explained, "Now lets get you dressed and ready, Maleficent wants to see everyone at her palace soon."

* * *

Evie and her mother were the last to arrive to the meeting out of the villains. Like the rest of the castle, it was dark and stingy, save for the very few lit candles around the room and the tears in the curtains letting light through. There were paintings hung on the walls, mostly torn or shredded. They took their seats at the large round stone table, Maleficent nowhere in sight.

Evie glanced curiously at the two boys sitting across from her. They looked to be the same age as her, however they seemed very uninterested and bored, whilst she was buzzing with excitement. Their parents were bickering between themselves, however there was one more person at the table.

Evie observed the girl with purple hair longer than the others. She seemed eternally bored, legs propped up on the table as she examined her fingernails. Evie assumed she was Maleficent's daughter Mal. She'd heard her mother talking about her countless times, but she never thought she'd see her in person so soon.

Suddenly, the large wooden doors in the room blasted open. Maleficent marched into the room elegantly, a smirk on her face as she reached the table. She placed both of her hands on the table and peered at everyone in the room, subtly smiling at Mal.

"Villains," Maleficent began, "Today marks a very important day in history. Today marks the start of something new, something positively _wicked_.

"We have been trapped in this village for far too long. Its time we take a stand and take the kingdom back. Today, we are sending our own children out into the world we've been banished out of to retrieve a very important item: Fairy Godmothers wand."

Instantly Mal, Carlos and Jay sat up and instantly began protesting.

"Why us?!"

"What can we do that you guys can't?!"

"Carlos can't even pack a punch!"

"Enough!" Maleficent shouted, causing the trio to stop, "You four are the only ones capable of getting into the kingdom. Anyone older will be recognised, and you four are the only competent children in the village. Therefore, you have been chosen. Now, onto tomorrows plans..."

* * *

 _ **A/N: I am so so sorry for not having updated any sooner! I've been busy with exams recently, and if you follow me as an author on here, you'll probably know I've been busy updating another fic. However, summers here and I'll be updating a lot more!**_

 _ **Please leave any feedback you may have in the reviews, I really want to make this story perfect for you guys who read it. Thank you!**_


	4. Chapter 3

"We're lost."

"No we're not. We're just... Exploring?"

"Carlos, we're lost."

Mal rolled her eyes at the bickering duo in front of her. Only a few hours ago, they'd all said goodbye to their families and set off towards the kingdom. However, at some point, they'd gone off the path and deeper into the forest, which in other words meant they were lost. The sun was still high in the sky, so they still had quite a while before it turned into night time.

"Do they do that a lot?" Evie asked Mal as they trailed behind them, "Argue, that is."

"Sometimes," Mal mused, "They're boys, what would you expect?"

Evie giggled, her laugh sounding like bells chiming in the wind. Even a blind person could see that she was much more suited for a palace life than a villain's life, but fate had not been fortunate on her, or on any of them for that matter.

They spent a few more hours aimlessly roaming around the forest before they decided to take a break, Carlos taking the opportunity to climb a tree to try and spot something.

"He's half wolf," Mal explained as she noticed Evie's confused expression.

"That also explains how he hasn't broken a sweat yet," Evie replied as she wiped her damp forehead and searched her backpack for a bottle of water.

"Hey Mal, do you think we're far enough from the village for magic to work?" Jay asked as he sat himself next to Evie, who handed him the water bottle once she'd taken a few sips.

"I'm not sure, I've never tried," Mal admitted, searching in her own backpack for her mother's spell book, "Mom gave me one of her old books to try once we get to the village, but I have no clue about anything magical."

"I'm surprised it was so easy to leave the village," Evie mused, "I mean, if they secluded all the villains in one spot of the forest, wouldn't they have some sort of security preventing them from coming back?"

Mal was about to respond before Carlos suddenly jumped down from the tree and in front of them, causing her to yelp in surprise.

"Funny you'd say that," Carlos began as he dusted himself off, "We're not too far from the path, however there is a huge magic barrier about half a mile up ahead that's probably going to be a problem."

The other three groaned in response, Carlos just shrugging and grabbing their arms to pull them up.

"Come on, we need to get to the kingdom before sundown," Carlos nagged, "The magic barrier can't be that hard to get through."

True to his word, they all soon found themselves back on the main path through the forest at found themselves in front of a magical barrier, only visible by the sheer golden glow it reflected. Mal reached to touch it, however she soon retracted her hand as she felt a jolt of electricity flow through her.

"Yep," Mal concluded, "Definitely designed to keep people out."

"So what do we do now?" Evie asked, "We can't exactly wait for someone to open it for us."

"I'll go climb another tree and see if I can find anything useful," Carlos said as he walked towards his selected tree, "Mal, look in your spell book to see if you can find anything."

"On it," Mal replied, digging through her backpack and grabbing onto the thick leather binding of the book.

While Mal flipped through the old pages and Jay searched around the area, Evie began doing some investigating herself. She put her hand against the barrier, only to pull it back at the jolt of energy. Evie frowned, looking around the forest for clues. She'd always been the curious type, and liked to think she inherited that from her father.

"What's that?" Evie asked Jay with curiosity, pointing at a peculiar plant.

"No clue," Jay shrugged, resuming his scavenge.

With careful steps, Evie approached the strange looking plant. Unlike other's she'd seen, this one looked out of place, almost alien with it's white roses and dark blue leaves. Evie knelt in front of the plant carefully, gently stroking one of the rose petals before attempting to pluck a rose out of the plant.

Suddenly, just as she managed to pull the rose out, the barrier dropped. Evie gasped in shock, looking down at the rose she'd just plucked. Her hand had barely been pricked by the thorns, however the rose was slowly beginning to rot away in her hand.

"Guys, I don't think we have much time!" Evie called, standing up and watching with dread as the barrier slowly began to come back down.

The remaining trio looked at eachother for a moment before quickly crossing to the other side of the barrier, Evie following in tow just as the flower died in her hand. The barrier came back down, sealing them away from everything they'd ever known.

"How did you do that?" Carlos asked with curiosity, peeking at the wilted rose.

"I just found the odd thing out I guess," Evie shrugged, her eyes fixated on the white rose.

"Come on, we don't have time to pick flowers," Mal called as she began walking down the path, "We still have a while to walk."

Carlos quickly scurried after Mal, afraid to be left behind. This left Jay and Evie to walk behind them, neither of them saying a word at first. Eventually, Evie tried to strike a conversation.

"So, how long do you think we'll be walking for?" Evie tried, picking at the rose in her hand.

"Dunno," Jay replied lazily, hands buried deep into his pockets.

"Eloquent," Evie muttered to herself, perking up to ask another question, "Have you every been to the kingdom before?"

"Do you really think I would've come back if I had?" Jay replied snappily.

"Well I'm sorry for trying to make conversation," Evie snapped back, crossing her arms and looking away.

Whilst the two were bickering, Carlos and Mal had silently been scouting out the path ahead. Mal had been lazily kicking the dead leaves on the forest ground while Carlos had run ahead, the wolf-like instinct in him leading him. He'd barely run one hundred meters ahead when he spotted a tower, far in the distance.

"Guys!" He called excitedly, "I think I found it!"

Evie and Jay looked at each other with grins before taking off down the path, running faster than they ever had before. Mal rolled her eyes at them but followed suit, running behind them.

By the time they found Carlos, he'd already climbed the nearest tree in desperate hope to see more.

"It's huge!" He called down, "You guys have got to see this!"

The trio looked at each other for a moment before Jay grinned wickedly.

"Last one up is a rat's tail!" He taunted as he started climbing the branches of the tree.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Evie asked Mal as they both prepared to climb up the first branch.

"Don't be such a princess," Mal teased, pushing herself off and beginning to climb up below Jay.

Evie eventually followed, a little annoyed that they kept referring to her as princess. She was just as wicked as they were, maybe a little on the gentle side but nothing that couldn't be fixed. Of course, she was the last to reach the top, however the climb was definetly worth the view they found.

All four villains sat in the branches idly, gaping at the view. The tower Carlos had spotted was actually the tallest tower of the palace, which was now in full view at the top of a far hill. The hill was decorated with delicate thin trees, each trimmed to perfection.

In the valley below the hill stood hundreds of small buildings and houses, marking the beginning of the kingdom. It was breathtaking to watch the village in action, tiny ant-like figures running about happily. Although it was still a long way away, all the villain kids could barely contain their excitement.

"Uh, guys?" Evie piped up after a few minutes, "How are we getting down?"

* * *

 **A/N: Words can't describe how sorry I am for not updating this story in LITERALLY forever. So, here's my absolutely appalling attempt at explaining myself:**

 **I recently started college, and I am absolutely swarmed with coursework. With that, I had completely lost my creativity for writing (and I'm taking a course in english, go figures). Along with a part-time job, I barely had any time to write anything at all.**

 **However, I fortunately / unfortunately fell ill this week with a virus and I wasn't allowed to go back into college until I was no longer contagious. So, I've had plenty of time to write this new chapter and a few more chapters for upcoming stories/existing stories.**

 **Again, I'm so sorry for not updating, but I promise I will never leave any stories unfinished. Even if it takes me months to write a new chapter, I will not leave the ending unfinished.**

 **So, until the next chapter, and I hope you enjoyed this somewhat short chapter.**


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